The Law: Class-Action Chill

For some time Lake Champlain had been filling up with sludge, apparently
from an International Paper Co. factory at Ticonderoga, N.Y. Finally,
in 1971, H. Keith Zahn went to federal court and sued the New York
pulpmaker on behalf of himself and some 200 others who owned Vermont
land fronting on the lake. Alleging $40 million in overall damages
because of the pollution, Zahn was relying on the newly popular tactic
of the class action, which allows a large group with a common complaint
to join together in one suit. Last week the Supreme...